Lions dig deep to spruce up Humberston Park Special School

Worthy location: Members of the Humberston Lions planted around 120 trees in the grounds of Humberston Park Special School. Pictured in the centre is Brian Marsh, a governor at the school, and to his left, Lions president Elaine Kitchen.

LIONS club members pitched in with a tree-mendous effort to spruce up a local school for children with special needs.

Around 120 trees were planted in the grounds of Humberston Park Special School by members of the Humberston Lions. The trees, which include oak, Scotch pine, hawthorn and rowan species, were planted next to the fence which neighbours the bordering Humberston Cloverfields Primary School.

When fully grown, the trees will form an attractive hedgerow which will increase privacy and attract wildlife to the garden.

A separate commemorative oak tree, sourced from the Royal Estates, was planted in the corner of the plot. It is to be accompanied by a plaque to mark the date of the planting.

Elaine Kitchen, president of the Humberston Lions, said: "Our international president has asked every member of the Lions clubs to plant a tree, and over the last 12 months 11 million trees have been planted around the world.

"Our club wanted to plant some trees in Humberston where we do a lot of our work, and we felt that Humberston Park School would be a worthy location."

School governor Brian Marsh, who is also chairman of the school's hydrotherapy pool, said: "We have had wonderful support from the Lions in the past and we thought the tree planting was a wonderful idea.

"It is going to give us a bit more privacy and it is going to improve the area for the children to play. We hope it will attract birds and squirrels and bring the children closer to wildlife, which will be absolutely delightful for them. It will help make their days a little bit more special."